Historically, it has not always been possible to grow fresh vegetables throughout the year. Therefore, people developed food preservation methods such as pickling and fermentation, a process that uses enzymes to create chemical changes in food. This is one of the main origins of kimchi.
Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made with salted and fermented vegetables. It usually contains cabbage and seasonings like sugar, salt, onions, garlic, ginger, and chili peppers. It can also contain other vegetables such as radish, celery, carrot, cucumber, eggplant, spinach, onion, beet, and bamboo shoots.
Although it is usually fermented for a few days or weeks before serving, it can also be eaten fresh, or unfermented, immediately after preparation.
Discover 9 unique health benefits of kimchi .
What is the Kimchi?
Kimchi is a fermented red cabbage dish (occasionally, with radish) made with a mixture of salt, vinegar, garlic, chili, and other spices. These ingredients are fermented in a tightly closed jar and later served with rice, noodles, or soups in every Korean household.
6 benefits of Kimchi
1. Lowers cholesterol levels
If you suffer from hypertension or high blood cholesterol, don’t worry: the garlic found in kimchi contains allicin and selenium, both of which are helpful in lowering the body’s cholesterol stores. In addition, these substances also indirectly help prevent the chances of developing a stroke or other cardiovascular diseases of any kind, due to the fact that it prevents the accumulation of plaque on the walls of the arteries.
2. It can help weight loss
Both fresh and fermented kimchi are low in calories and can promote weight loss. A 4-week study of 22 overweight people found that eating fresh or fermented kimchi helped reduce body weight, body mass index (BMI), and body fat. Furthermore, the fermented variety lowered blood sugar levels (Kim et al., 2011).
It is not clear which properties of kimchi are responsible for its weight loss effects, although its low calorie count, high fiber content and probiotics could be a good explanation for this.
3. Provides radiant skin and shiny hair
Kimchi makes your outward appearance look great. Because the selenium found in kimchi garlic keeps your skin and hair healthy, eating kimchi helps prevent wrinkles in the long run. In addition, selenium is a relevant part of glutathione, an enhancer that reconstitutes vitamin C and preserves it, thus making it stronger and more effective in the body.
4. May delay aging
Chronic inflammation is not only associated with numerous diseases, it also accelerates the aging process. However, kimchi possibly prolongs the life of cells by slowing down this process.
In a test-tube study, kimchi-treated human cells demonstrated increased viability, which measures the overall health of the cells, and showed longer lifespan regardless of age (Kim, Park, Kim, Ahn, and Cho, 2011). Still, many more studies are needed before kimchi can be recommended as an anti-aging treatment .
5. Facilitates the healthy development of the body
A 100 gram serving of kimchi has 18% of the daily value for vitamin A, if we consider the 2,000 calorie per day diet.
Aside from vitamin A being an antioxidant that can help get rid of cancer-causing free radicals in the body, the benefits are not limited to this alone. This same vitamin A is important for the development of a healthy body, even in embryos; it also helps maintain clear and healthy eyesight.
6. Prevents the appearance of a peptic ulcer
Peptic ulcers are commonly caused by Helicobacter pylori , a gram-negative bacteria found in the stomach.
How can we stop its growth? Eating kimchi. This food contains leuconostoc mesenteroids that produce dextrin, an important substance to stop the growth of H. pylori .
conclusion
Kimchi is one of the oldest known ethnic dishes originating in Korea, but it is only recently that people are beginning to realize that in addition to its unique and delicious taste, it also has the potential to be a nutritious part of our daily meals.
Most of its health benefits come from the vegetables and bacteria used to ferment the Kimchi. Its probiotics, vitamins and nutrients will protect you from both natural diseases and harmful man-made chemicals.
References
- Laroya, LM 9 Surprising Benefits Of Kimchi That Will Make You Want To Try It Now. For. Seoul. [Revised February 2020].
- Kim, EK, An, SY, Lee, MS, Kim, TH, Lee, HK, Hwang, W. S… and Lee, KW (2011). Fermented kimchi reduces body weight and improves metabolic parameters in overweight and obese patients. Nutrition research (New York, NY) . doi: 10.1016 / j.nutres.2011.05.011
- Kim, B., Park, KY, Kim, HY, Ahn, SC and Cho, EJ (2011). Anti-aging effects and mechanisms of kimchi during fermentation under stress-induced premature senescence cellular system. Food Science and Biotechnology . doi: 10.1007 / s10068-011-0091-9
